German MNetters. Houseware shop help!

[Fordian]

We are dropping DS off for an exchange semester in a German Uni just west of Stuttgart. He'll be staying in the Halls of Residence.

We visited today- and the Halls are like a cell-block. The room is furnished like a prison cell, battered painted cement block walls, stained looking mattress and second hand (washed) bedding.

The (grotty, crowded) kitchen does come equipped, tho badly.

He's quietly a bit upset, esp as he now knows that private renting would have been available. The communications between some European unis and UK ones stopped due to Covid and being post-Erasmus, we weren't able to ascertain what was available, contracts etc.

Anyway, we are where we are. My question is there's cheap homewear chain like Primark available in the states if Baden Wurtemmburg or Bavaria? Where I can get him some homely touches like a bedside light/rug/coat hangers/in stained bedding 🙄?

Thanks.

That’s a bit unfortunate, student accommodation in Germany is often perfectly ok for the money, if not necessarily luxurious.
I’d have thought Ikea would be your best bet for making a room look nicer on a budget - there seem to be two of them in the Stuttgart area. Another large chain store in the budget sector is Mömax, and Dänisches Bettenlager specialises in bed and bath stuff.
Germany got its first Primarks only a few years ago and the branches I‘ve visited don’t tend to have the full range of homeware - the emphasis is very much on clothes.

Hema? I think there's a branch in Stuttgart

TK Maxx in Germany -although I'm not sure 100% where- just spied one in Berlin

Ooh I do feel for him, had the same experience in France many years ago. Exchange students are often given the worst accommodation. I can't help with German shops but would say what made a difference to me was: a decent pillow, a lamp, blutack for posters, some herbs and spices to liven up my cooking, flip flops if the bathroom is equally disgusting!

My experience abroad was that private renting is hard to find for one semester only anyway. Families will choose someone there for a year instead. At least In Halls he may make some friends which is more difficult privately. I had some awful rooms too so sympathise. Rugs sound good!

IKEA is your best bet, I would think.

Another possibility is Tchibo often do that sort of thing, but it changes on a rolling weekly basis (like the middle aisle of Aldi/Lidl - you could try this too!) so you just have to be lucky. As well as Tchibo shops, they often have a concession in supermarkets (Rewe, Tengelmann, Edeka for eg).

Kik is cheap and should have bedding etc.

C&A might also have something (but tends to be just clothes, you might be lucky though).

Good timing, looks like Tchibo has bedding, lamps etc in at the moment!

Action is cheap and cheerful if you have one, otherwise look at Kik, Tedi, Hema, Primark — also the bigger supermarkets though probably not so cheap and cheerful. Oh and also if there's a Phillipps that's a good shout too.

Actually a quick Google says there's an Action in Zuffenhausen if you're in Stuttgart, you'll be able to get everything there.

Oh yes, KiK and Tedi tend to have a good selection of discount stuff, if there are branches in Stuttgart - but the emphasis is nonetheless on clothing.
I‘ve found HEMA in Germany to be fairly disappointing - they’re tiny by comparison with the Netherlands. I looked up the Stuttgart branch and it looks as small as the one in Berlin: mostly party tat and phone cases etc.
Here‘s a reminder that Woolworths still operates in Germany - if there’s a branch in Stuttgart it might be invaluable, although the taste in home decor is decidedly shabby chic.

I second Ikea!

If you can‘t get to ikea try this- Bit like m&s ;-) www.galeria.de

Actually, another good tip to look out for is that lots of unis will have a buy and sell page on Facebook or some other platform. DD was studying last year in NL, also in a fairly bare halls of residence, and she bought a job lot of room deco for 60 euros: that included an Ikea bookshelf, a hanging cloth wardrobe, a comfy chair, a few lamps and some plants. She sold it on the same way the following year. It worked out a lot cheaper than buying it all new, even from the cheapest discount shop. It wouldn‘t surprise me if Stuttgart uni has something similar - but the page is probably in German.

There's a TK maxx on Koenig Strasse., they have the homely touches you're after. Next to the Hauptbahnof there's also a Galeria Kaufhof. You can buy homewares there as well although they will cost more than the UK. Primark, also on Koenig Strasse has towels and bedding.

There's also an Ikea in Sindelfinden which is accessible via public transport - sbahn S1 to Goldberg and then a short bus journey.

You could also check the middle aisles in Lidl/Aldi. Amazon.de is also worth a look.

I'm a Brit living in Stuttgart for many years. Happy to answer any questions.

Thanks everyone.

We visited the halls with the international coordinator this morning (nice bloke, readily admitted the halls were a bit grim- Scwabisch Gmund Design School, if anyones interested). And, I guess, it was a far cry from the lavishly funded Halls, £7200pa (paid for by the student, and topped up by the parents) of the English uni market.

We revisited several hours later to actually drop his suitcase of stuff off, and- with a more objective eye, it could be a lot worse. It was 'sold' as the international student experience, but, in reality, he's the only international of 20 on his floor, so, for example, there's no desk lamp or coat hangers. Bed, washed, second hand bedding, desk, shelves, wardrobe; shared bathroom with unknown person who has commandeered it, but it looked clean enough. All fine, but I WISH I KNEW BEFOREHAND cos I could practically set up my own halls of residence based on the amount of uni stuff we've accrued with DCs at uni... 🙄

The coordinator told me he loved the German funding model, which I understand, but it leads to somewhat run down halls! And the cove in the 'shared-by-20' kitchen was rammed with rubbish. Not stinking, but 4 bin bags full, a 4 foot wedged pile of pizza boxes etc. The spot-check cleaners of an English Halls would roast them alive for that! 😂. .... but, why is the kitchen like that in mid Sept?

Thank you! He's actually in Scwabisch Gmund, which I know is 30 mins by train from Stuttgart.

Ah sorry Fordian, thought I was dispensing priceless information about Stuttgart 😂I'm sure you will find all of the relevant shops there

Don't forget the middle of Lidl & Aldi!

There is a big ikea in Stuttgart

I've never been to Schwäbisch Gmuend, but a quick google tells me that there are branches of

• JYSK (bedding, towels, cushions)
• Moemax (furniture, lamps, homewares)
• Depot (nice mugs, vases, mirrors, cushions and throws, bathroom accessories, decorative bits and pieces)

JYSK and Moemax appear to be located right next to each other (Mühlweg 5, 73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd) in an industrial estate type area whereas Depot (Marktplatz 32, 73525 Schwäbisch Gmünd) seems to be in the town centre / main shopping area.

Hope your son has a nice time despite the grotty student halls!

No, that's hugely useful. Thank you. SG is 30 mins from Stuttgart! Where we will go through en route to dropping him off, finally, 😭 where we can stock him up on stuff that makes his room a bit more homely, not cell-block H..... 🤔😂

Tedi has come through for us. Thank you!